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Post by steven9660 on Sept 7, 2006 8:22:45 GMT 7
Govou scored two excellent goals France avenged their World Cup final defeat with a deserved victory over Italy in a Group B Euro 2008 qualifier. Sidney Govou volleyed France ahead after 69 seconds before Thierry Henry's shot from a tight angle deflected off Fabio Cannavaro and into the net. Italy hit back through Alberto Gilardino, who headed home an Andrea Pirlo free-kick. Govou superbly headed home France's third, while Cannavaro and Franco Semioli went close for Italy. It was a scintillating game, brought to life by Govou's technically brilliant strike as he wrapped his leg around a deep cross from William Gallas and struck the ball across Gianluigi Buffon. However, Italy may feel that Gallas should have been flagged offside when the ball was played through to him. The World Cup final in Berlin 58 days earlier culminated in a dramatic penalty shoot-out, but the match at the Stade de France was of much higher quality and entertainment value. France made most of the early running and new Italy coach Roberto Donadoni, who watched his team draw at home to Lithuania on Saturday, cut a frustrated figure as he watched from the sidelines. Italy's only early opportunity came through Gianluca Zambrotta, who found himself in space inside the France area but drilled his shot over the crossbar. Henry struck with a rebound after Buffon had saved Florent Malouda's low long-range strike. Buffon may well have saved Henry's shot but was undone by the slight deflection off Cannavaro. The Italian keeper, though, made a good save to thwart Franck Ribery after Gilardino had pulled one back for Italy. And France keeper Gregory Coupet showcased his skills with a brilliant goalline clearance, palming the ball away at full stretch after Semioli had connected with Fabio Grosso's low cross. France scored the decisive goal after the break - with Govou again vindicating his selection ahead of Louis Saha with a superb header from Willy Sagnol's cross. Govou sustained an injury for his troubles, clashing heads with Cannavaro after heading the ball. The Lyon striker almost completed his hat-trick with a low strike across goal but Buffon made an amazing fingertip save. The French team retained possession superbly as the match moved into its final stages - and almost scored a fourth through Ribery. The Marseille forward came within inches of a goal - his strike just flying wide of Buffon's goal. Italy did create one final chance but Coupet was equal to Cannavaro's header on a night that firmly belonged to Raymond Domenech's team. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- France: Coupet, Sagnol, Gallas, Thuram, Abidal, Ribery (Saha 88), Vieira, Makelele, Malouda, Govou (Wiltord 75), Henry. Subs Not Used: Landreau, Boumsong, Clerc, Givet, Diarra. Booked: Henry. Goals: Govou 2, Henry 18, Govou 55. Italy: Buffon, Zambrotta, Cannavaro, Barzagli, Grosso, Semioli (Di Michele 54), Pirlo, Gattuso, Perrotta, Cassano (Inzaghi 73), Gilardino (De Rossi 87). Subs Not Used: Abbiati, Oddo, Dainelli, Delvecchio. Booked: Cannavaro, Perrotta, Gilardino, Grosso. Goals: Gilardino 20. Att: 78,800 Ref: Herbert Fandel (Germany).
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Post by steven9660 on Sept 7, 2006 8:24:40 GMT 7
Round-up of Euro 2008 qualifiers
Russia and Croatia shared a goalless draw in a Euro 2008 Group E qualifier. After a lacklustre first-half Milan Rapaic struck the bar with a free-kick, while Eduardo da Silva and van Klasnic also missed good chances for Croatia.
Coach Guus Hiddink's decision to introduce Pavel Pogrebniak revived Russia's attack, with the Tom Tomsk striker twice going close.
Igor Semshov's volley drew a reaction save from Stipe Pletikosa and Andrei Arshavin's went close with a shot.
Both teams, who are regarded as England's main rivals in Group E, were playing their first competitive games under new coaches.
Former Australia boss Hiddink has taken charge of Russia, with former Everton defender Slaven Bilic now guiding Croatia.
England top Group E on goal difference ahead of Israel, who beat Andorra 4-1 in Nijmegen.
First-half goals by captain Yossi Benayoun and debutant striker Amit Ben Shushan as well as Shimon Gershon's penalty put Israel in control.
Substitute Toto Tamuz added a fourth, before Andorra defender Fernando Silva was sent off, though late on substitute Juli Fernandez scored the Andorrans' first goal of the campaign.
The game was played in Nijmegen after Uefa in July banned all matches under its jurisdiction from being hosted in Israel due to the month-long Lebanon war.
In Group B Ukraine came from behind to beat Georgia 3-2 in Kiev.
Chelsea striker Andriy Shevchenko gave Urkaine the lead with a header, but a Shota Arveladze shot and Georgi Demetradze's free-kick put Georgia 2-1 ahead.
But Ruslan Rotan's header pulled Ukraine level and with 10 minutes left defender Andriy Rusol scored the winner with a header from a corner.
Scotland top Group B on goal difference after beating Lithuania 2-1 in Kaunus.
France are second in the group after beating World Cup holders Italy 3-1 in Paris.
Finland, coached by former Blackburn manager Roy Hodgson, drew 1-1 with 10-man Portugal in Group A in Helsinki.
Ricardo produced a string of saves as the World Cup semi-finalists played most of the second half with 10 men following defender Ricardo Costa's dismissal.
Finland took a surprise lead when Jonatan Johansson tapped home, before Nuno Gomes equalised for the visitors four minutes before halftime.
Asked whether he was satisfied with four points from two games Hodgson said: "I'm overjoyed."
Holland beat Belarus 3-0 in Eindhoven to move two points clear of Bulgaria in Group G.
Robin Van Persie opened the scoring for the Dutch after 32 minutes when Belarus failed to clear a corner, allowing the Arsenal forward to hammer the ball home.
Van Persie sealed victory with 12 minutes left with a well-placed shot.
Liverpool striker Dirk Kuyt added a third when he headed home a free kick by Van Persie.
Bulgaria beat Slovenia 3-0 in Wednesday's other game in Group G.
Arsenal midfielder Freddie Ljungberg missed a penalty as Sweden beatLiechtenstein 3-1 in Gothenburg to go three points clear in Group F.
Former Aston Villa striker Marcus Allback scored twice and Markus Rosenborg added a third late on.
Dennis Rommedahl made one and scored the other as Denmark made a winning start to their campaign against Iceland, in a group that also contains Northern Ireland, who beat Spain 3-2.
Jon Dahl Tomasson hit the second for Denmark as Morten Olsen's men had the game wrapped up by half-time in Reykjavik.
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Post by steven9660 on Sept 7, 2006 8:29:20 GMT 7
Macedonia 0-1 England Peter Crouch's rich vein of scoring form continued to give England a hard-fought victory in the Euro 2008 qualifier against Macedonia in Skopje. Crouch scored seconds after half-time with a shot that bounced off the bar but was clearly over the line. The Liverpool striker's 11th goal in 14 internationals made it three successive wins for England coach Steve McClaren. Macedonia almost snatched a point late on, with Artemi Sakiri shooting wide and Ashley Cole clearing off the line. But England survived and McClaren will have been delighted to come through a potentially hazardous encounter unscathed. In a keenly-contested first 45 minutes, England's main source of danger came from Phil Neville's long throws into the box. He found Crouch after 24 minutes, and his header was turned over by Macedonia keeper Jane Nikoloski - then Neville's next throw helped Jermain Defoe produce an over-head kick that was narrowly off target. Defoe should have given England the lead six minutes before half-time when another Neville throw was flicked on by Crouch, but the Spurs striker volleyed over from close range. England captain John Terry made a crucial block to stop Macedonia taking the lead after 41 minutes, when he got in the way of Velice Sumulikoski's goal-bound shot from the edge of the area. Frank Lampard had been quiet, but he almost broke the deadlock with seconds left in the first half when he forced a fine diving save from Nikoloski with a low drive from 20 yards. But Crouch eased England's anxiety when he continued his golden goalscoring streak with another strike straight from the re-start. He got on to the end of Lampard's cross, and even though his rising drive hit the bar, it clearly crossed the line as it hit the ground and the officials quickly awarded the goal. Crouch's confidence rose visibly and he almost added a second after 58 minutes with an instant shot that was only inches wide. England could not afford to relax, and Goran Pandev tested Paul Robinson from 25 yards, but the keeper was equal to the task. Substitute Sakiri then gave England another anxious moment when he sent a shot flashing narrowly off target after 78 minutes with Robinson beaten. And Macedonia came even closer to equalising with seven minutes left when Cole was forced to clear off the line after Sakiri's cross sparked a goalmouth scramble. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FYR Macedonia: Nikolovski, Noveski, Petrov, Sedloski, Igor Mitreski, Lazarevski, Jancevski (Tasevski 52), Sumulikoski, Naumoski (Sakiri 74), Maznov (Stojkov 56), Pandev. Subs Not Used: Pacovski, Aleksander Mitreski, Vasovski, Grozdanovski. Booked: Naumoski, Lazarevski, Pandev. England: Robinson, Neville, Terry, Ferdinand, Cole, Gerrard, Hargreaves, Lampard (Carrick 84), Downing, Crouch (Johnson 87), Defoe (Lennon 76). Subs Not Used: Foster, Bridge, Brown, Bent. Booked: Crouch, Gerrard, Cole. Goals: Crouch 46. Att: 16,500 Ref: Bertrand Layec (France).
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Post by steven9660 on Sept 7, 2006 8:32:01 GMT 7
Podolski scored four goals San Marino 0-13 Germany Germany set a European Championship qualifying record after crushing San Marino 13-0 in the republic. Striker Lukas Podolski scored four, while Bastian Schweinsteiger, Miroslav Klose and Thomas Hitzlsperger all found the net twice. Michael Ballack, Manuel Friedrich and Bernd Schneider with a 90th-minute penalty also scored in the game, which Germany led 6-0 at the break. Germany's Group D win bettered Spain's 12-1 victory over Malta in 1983. The result was also the worst in San Marino's history - 14 years ago they lost 10-0 to Norway. San Marino's population is just 27,000, though the game was watched by a crowd of just more than 5,000. Germany top Group D, which includes Wales and the Republic of Ireland, on goal difference. Joachim Loew's side have six points, the same as the Czech Republic, who beat neighbours Slovakia 3-0 in Bratislava. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- San Marino: Aldo Simoncini, Nicola Albani, Alessandro Della Valle, Bacciocchi, Palazzi, Carlo Valentini, Vannucci (Davide Simoncini 68), Michele Marani, Domeniconi (Bonini 45), Manuel Marani (Masi 78), Andy Selva. Subs Not Used: Ceccoli, Bugli, Celli, De Luigi. Booked: Palazzi, Michele Marani. Germany: Lehmann, Jansen, Arne Friedrich, Lahm, Schweinsteiger, Frings (Hitzlsperger 62), Ballack (Odonkor 46), Schneider, Manuel Friedrich, Klose (Asamoah 46), Podolski. Subs Not Used: Neuville, Hildebrand, Fathi, Madlung. Booked: Odonkor. Goals: Podolski 11, Schweinsteiger 28, Klose 29, Ballack 35, Podolski 43, Klose 45, Schweinsteiger 47, Podolski 64, Hitzlsperger 66, Podolski 70, Hitzlsperger 72, Manuel Friedrich 87, Schneider 90 pen. Att: 5,019 Ref: Selcuk Dereli (Turkey).
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Post by steven9660 on Sept 7, 2006 8:34:32 GMT 7
Healy (right) and Keith Gillespie celebrate Healy's first half goal Northern Ireland 3-2 Spain David Healy's hat-trick helped Northern Ireland claim a shock victory over Spain in Wednesday's Euro 2008 qualifier at Windsor Park. Healy punished a Xabi Alonso mistake to level from close range shortly after Barcelona star Xavi had volleyed Spain ahead with 14 minutes gone. David Villa restored Spain's lead on 52 minutes but Healy converted Sammy Clingan's free-kick to level. Healy then ensured the home win with a glorious lobbed winner on 80 minutes. The final whistle sparked off scenes of wild jubilation as the home crowd savoured a fine victory just days after the miserable 3-0 home defeat to Iceland. Northern Ireland boss Lawrie Sanchez reacted to Saturday's dismal home defeat by making four changes with Michael Duff and debutant Jonny Evans coming into the defence and Kyle Lafferty and Roy Carroll also earning starts. The changes seemed to have the desired effect with the home side showing great urgency right from the start. In the second minute, full-back Duff found himself in behind the Spain defence but he was unable to pick out the unmarked Healy in the middle. Carroll's return to the Northern Ireland team proved short-lived as he was forced off in 12th minute because of an apparent groin injury. Two minutes, replacement keeper Maik Taylor was picking the ball out of his own net with the unmarked Xavi superbly volleying home from 12 yards after Antonio Lopez had outwitted Keith Gillespie to whip in a cross. However, Northern Ireland were on terms within six minutes when Healy stabbed the ball home after a dreadful mistake by Alonso. The Liverpool player inexplicably allowed a harmless-looking ball to bounce in his own area and compounded the error by attempting to nod back to Iker Casillas which allowed Healy to nip in to score his 21st international goal. Spain attempted to regroup and Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas, who had already replaced David Albelda, powered in a dangerous shot in the 35th minute which was deflected to safety. But the partisan atmosphere at Windsor Park - with 14,500 fans jam-packed inside - appeared to be getting to the Spaniards, who conceded a number of needless free-kicks. Northern Ireland continued to cause Spain problems immediately after half-time with the lively Keith Gillespie shooting inches over. However, Spain went ahead against the run of play through Villa, who produced a clever finish after a mix-up in the Northern Ireland defence. But Northern Ireland heads refused to drop and they were on terms again in the 64th minute with Healy thumping home Clingan's short free-kick in a move clearly rehearsed on the training ground. Spain were inches away from leading again when Raul's close-range shot came back off the woodwork. Northern Ireland would probably have settled for a draw at that stage but the home fans were sent into delirium when Healy lobbed the glorious winner over Casillas from 25 yards. Inevitably, Spain pushed forward in the closing stages and Taylor did well to push a Puyol shot over the bar as Northern Ireland held on for a famous victory over a team ranked seventh in the world. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Northern Ireland: Carroll (Taylor 12), Duff, Aaron Hughes, Craigan, Evans, Gillespie, Clingan, Davis, Baird, Healy (Feeney 85), Lafferty (Quinn 54). Subs Not Used: McAuley, Elliott, McCann, Jones. Booked: Duff, Feeney. Goals: Healy 20, 64, 80. Spain: Casillas, Sergio Ramos (Salgado 45), Puyol, Pablo, Antonio Lopez, Albelda (Fabregas 29), Xavi, Alonso, Torres (Luis Garcia 63), Villa, Raul. Subs Not Used: Reina, Marchena, Reyes, Iniesta. Booked: Antonio Lopez, Puyol. Goals: Xavi 14, Villa 52. Att: 14,500 Ref: Frank De Bleeckere (Belgium).
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stone cold
Full Member
Bottomline is cos Stone Cold says so
Posts: 1,853
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Post by stone cold on Oct 8, 2006 9:31:51 GMT 7
again,the under achievers, over paid ,bunch of English flops, jaguh kampungs can't score against a part timer players fr an virtually unknown country... ;D the fat,rich boys fr England whose combined wealth together,i think is more than the GDP of that country.. ;D English flops again...
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Post by avanza7262 on Oct 8, 2006 14:02:18 GMT 7
actually macedonia play very good football where they close down england players as soon as they touch the ball when get passes from teammate....
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Post by steven9660 on Oct 9, 2006 8:08:15 GMT 7
England was lacking fire power on the midfield.. carrick no good... england need lennon ,bent and maybe beckham can still contribute ? ;D ;D I know what stone cold gonna say...beckham no good.. ;D
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stone cold
Full Member
Bottomline is cos Stone Cold says so
Posts: 1,853
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Post by stone cold on Oct 9, 2006 8:50:40 GMT 7
England was lacking fire power on the midfield.. carrick no good... england need lennon ,bent and maybe beckham can still contribute ? ;D ;D I know what stone cold gonna say...beckham no good.. ;D actually u r right bro ,,,needs Becks back 2 bent the ball,probably score on dead ball cos as we c now whenever Eng got the ball,,they r being close down.. ;D ;D, Carrick is lousy,,18.6 mil pd of Eng potatoes..Neville shu hav scored but opt 4 the 3pts score. fr another sport. ;D,, what Jialard got ,a nice yellow card which means miss out on wed game.. ;D England 2 win a major tournament like Euro or WC...maybe l won't c it happening ,,probably my grandson.. ;D 1 sugguestion is re-locate England n play in Asian Cup,,stand a better chance of winning.. ;D ;D
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Post by evan1222 on Oct 9, 2006 15:24:37 GMT 7
yup, eng game really sucks.
I think they need arsene wenger.
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Post by evan1222 on Oct 9, 2006 15:25:44 GMT 7
I saw the U21 team played against Germany and they play more confidently compare to the senior team. The youth team showed more potential and skills.
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Post by avanza7262 on Oct 9, 2006 18:41:59 GMT 7
and youth team also got pace.... i think mcclaren need to call back beckham into the squad not first team as beckham can be very useful when they play tough opponent as he normally scored free kick when england got preassure....
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stone cold
Full Member
Bottomline is cos Stone Cold says so
Posts: 1,853
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Post by stone cold on Oct 10, 2006 8:53:03 GMT 7
and youth team also got pace.... i think mcclaren need to call back beckham into the squad not first team as beckham can be very useful when they play tough opponent as he normally scored free kick when england got preassure.... is true also,,but then again Becks form is questionable,,he's not starting at REal only warming the bench.. ;D, n his pop singer wife's career in singing rn't going that great also,,so year 2006 might turn out 2 b Becks swansong. ;D why not lets Becks b the Eng assistant-assistant coach,,can teach the youngster a trick or 2 about bending balls,,
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Post by steven9660 on Oct 10, 2006 13:00:40 GMT 7
Beckham should come to malaysia, he can teach our FAM official how to bend excuse.. ;D ;D ;D
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stone cold
Full Member
Bottomline is cos Stone Cold says so
Posts: 1,853
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Post by stone cold on Oct 10, 2006 14:12:01 GMT 7
Beckham should come to malaysia, he can teach our FAM official how to bend excuse.. ;D ;D ;D not only FAM,,most of ur sports association r like that,,take d recent Bam squard 2 Madrid 4 d world badminton championship,,,apart fr the participating players,,bam also sent "officials",doctors,masseuers,,etc,etc,,the whopping bill is around a cool rm 1/2 mill of our taxpayer $$,,came home with nothing 2 show.. , but bags of excuses like 2 cold, cannot eat the food there,,stupid n lamb excuses,,,my opinions r better dun good save d $$ 2 build more roads so not so congested... ;D ;D ;D
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